What Will You Learn from Our Blackjack Strategy Guide?
The key to winning in blackjack is knowing when to stop taking a new card. In this guide, you’ll learn the basic rules and strategies to improve your winning chances.
4 Important Tips Before You Start
Before you start playing blackjack for real money, here are four vital tips that you should pay attention to.
- Get to know all the rules, odds, bets and payouts
The first and most important thing you need to understand in blackjack is the rules. They are easy to grasp – you just need to get a hand higher than the dealer’s hand without going over 21.
Additionally, you should get familiar with blackjack odds, bet types and payouts. You can try out the game rules and bet types using free blackjack versions online.
- Choose a blackjack variant smartly
Blackjack is a game with different variations, and you’ll find most of them at Indian online casinos. Before you start playing, you should learn about these variants and the difference between them.
- Plan your budget – how much are you prepared to win or lose?
You also need to plan your bankroll before you start betting for real money. Decide how much you want to bet on blackjack games.
Most Indian online casinos will let you set deposit limits on your account – it can be daily, weekly or monthly. All in all, Indian players should ensure they only wager with the money they can afford to lose.
- Don’t forget about the time you’re willing to spend on a game
Blackjack is an exciting game to play, however, you shouldn’t get carried away. Decide the time you’re willing to spend on a game.
Most Indian casinos will let you set a time limit. But be determined and ensure you stick to the plan.
Basic Blackjack Strategy
If you’re a new Indian blackjack player, the first step to becoming a better player is to learn a basic blackjack strategy.
The basic strategy involves which hands to play based on your hand and the dealer’s face-up card. Applying this basic strategy is an excellent way to reduce the casino’s house advantage in the game.
The basic blackjack strategy is easy to grasp, but it can change slightly for different variants. Beginners can learn the basic strategy by playing the free versions online.
Let’s check out a few recommended techniques! We have done all the hard work and put together these Blackjack charts –
Hit or Stand?
Blackjack basic strategies involving hitting or standing are among the important rules you need to learn. Once you receive the first two cards, you need to decide whether you want to “Hit” or “Stand”.
Hitting is when you request another card from the dealer, while standing is when you decide to keep your first two cards and not take additional cards.
It’s important to consider the dealer’s face-up card before hitting or standing. You should always hit on a hand of 8 or less. All hands from 9 to 11 should either be hit or double down. If you hit on a hand of 12 or more, you risk exceeding 21.
You should also hit when the dealer’s hand includes high cards like 7, 8, or 9. Otherwise, you should stand if your hand value is 17 or more.
When it comes to standing in blackjack, Indian players should understand the concept of hard and soft hands.
A soft hand has an ace that counts as 1 or 11. While a hard hand is a hand without an ace, or if it includes an ace, it only counts as 1. A blackjack player should base their decision to stand on whether they hold a soft or hard hand.
For example, an Indian blackjack player should stand with a hard 16 if the dealer’s face-up card is a 6 or less. You can hit if the face-up card is a 2.
Double Down
You can double down on your wager in a blackjack game once you receive your first two cards.
However, while most online Indian casinos will let you double down, some casinos won’t allow it. Once you double down your bet, you’ll receive an additional card. You need to be careful when selecting the card to double down on.
You should double down on 9, 10, or 11 when the dealer’s face-up card is the same or less than yours. Additionally, you should double down on all soft hands that add up to 18 or less when the dealer’s upcard is a 5 or 6.
Never double down on 11 against ace or 10.
Split Pairs
If your first two cards are a pair, you can split in blackjack. A hand with 2-2, 5-5, or 10-10 can be split. You need to divide your two cards into two separate hands and double your bet.
Each hand can receive a second card, and you can play both as normal.
You should split a hand of 8-8 or Ace-Ace no matter the dealer’s face-up card. In other situations, you should consider the dealer’s face-up card before splitting your hand.
You should split a hand of 9-9, provided the dealer’s face-up card is lower than 10. Also, split a hand of 7-7 if the dealer’s card is less than 8.
The Soft 17 Rule
In Blackjack, 17 is a tricky figure – you can potentially win or lose immediately after you hit or stand. Most Blackjack players will hit until they have 17 or better. It’s a tough decision, but standing on soft 17 is a safe way to go.
When to Surrender?
If you think the dealer has a better chance of winning, it’s actually better for you to forfeit the game, receive half your wager and move to the next round.
This is called ‘surrender’ in blackjack. You should surrender when you have a hand of 16 against the dealer’s upcard of 9, 10 or ace.
Besides that, you should surrender a hand of 15 against an ace or 10.
Advanced Blackjack Strategy
Once you have mastered the basic blackjack strategy, you can learn advanced blackjack strategies. These are any that go beyond the principle of the basic strategy, including:
- Taking insurance when the card count is +4 or more
- Splitting 10s against a dealer face-up card of 5 or 6
- Standing with a hand value of 16 (containing 4 or 5) even when the dealer’s face-up card is high
Progressive betting systems are also examples of advanced blackjack strategies. If you want to develop a Blackjack betting strategy, then you need master these betting systems
These include positive betting systems like Reverse D’Alembert or Paroli, which require players to increase their bet after each win and reduce it after each loss.
It also includes negative betting systems like Martingale, or D’Alembert, where players increase their bet after each loss and reduce it after a win.
What exactly is blackjack card counting and can it work?
You might have heard of ‘card counting’, which is the ultimate blackjack card strategy.
Card counting is an advanced blackjack strategy where players monitor the cards to determine whether the next hand will favour them or the dealer.
Card counting aims to keep track of the ratio of high to low-value cards remaining in the deck.
But does it work?
Well, it depends on whether you’re playing online or offline. For online blackjack, card counting is difficult because the cards are reshuffled before the next round.
It prevents you from getting a decent running count that could be of any benefit.
On the other hand, card counting is logical and simple if you’re playing at an offline casino. When you play blackjack at a traditional casino, your dealer shuffles and places six to eight decks of cards in the shop.
The dealer then places a cut card behind 80% of the cards and won’t reshuffle until they reach the cut card. However, casinos prohibit card counting and ban players caught in the act.
How to count cards?
As suggested, card counting requires players to keep a running count. The simplest card counting strategy is the Hi-Lo system, which tracks the cards by assigning them values and monitoring the count.
The technique is as follows:
- Cards with values of 2 through 6 count +1
- Cards with the value of 7 through 9 count as 0
- 10, Ace, and picture cards (Q, J, and K) count as -1
A positive count value implies lots of high-value cards remaining in the deck. A negative count value means there are lots of low-value cards left in the deck.
Which Blackjack Strategy Should You Choose?
First, you need to get familiar with the various blackjack variants and their rule differences. Additionally, the blackjack strategy you should choose depends on whether you are a pro or a novice.
A new Indian blackjack player should stick to the basic blackjack strategy and master it well before moving to the advanced ones.
If you’re a blackjack pro, you can try your hands on card counting or develop a Blackjack betting strategy that fits your bankroll.
The best strategies to try when you’re new to casino
We recommend sticking to the basic blackjack strategy outlined above if you’re a new India casino player. The basic blackjack strategy will teach you the possible hand combinations.
Blackjack strategies to play if you’re a pro
Professional blackjack players have vast experience in the blackjack game and the basic strategies for better winning chances.
Here are some strategies to consider as a blackjack pro:
- Basic blackjack strategy: It’s the simplest for blackjack players to learn – both pro and novice. With this strategy, players will know when best to hit, stand, double down or surrender. This gives you an edge over the casino dealer.
- Card Counting: Card counting is an advanced strategy for experienced blackjack players. The strategy helps you track the ratio of high-value cards to low-value cards in the deck.
- Betting Systems: You should only use betting systems if you have a huge bankroll. Some Blackjack betting strategies to try out include Martingale, D’Alembert, Reverse Martingale, Paroli and more.
Strategies for Blackjack that got the most wins
Several blackjack players have applied strategies to reduce the house edge and land massive wins. Here are some of the biggest blackjack winners in history:
- Kerry Packer: He is the biggest winner in the history of blackjack. His first win was in 1991, and he won $7 million at the Hilton in Las Vegas. In 1995, he wagered $250,000 to win $40 million.
- MIT Grad Students: MIT grad students and Bill Kaplan formed a blackjack group of 80 players. They won between $50-$100 million between 1980 and 1990 at Atlantic City.
- Don Johnson: He is the CEO of Heritage Development LLC, and he won around $15 million at Atlantic City casinos between December 2010 and April 2011.
General Beginner Mistakes That Are Easy to Avoid
As an Indian blackjack beginner, it’s easy for you to make a mistake due to a lack of experience. However, you can prevent these if you get acquainted with them beforehand.
Here are some beginner mistakes and how to prevent them.
- Most new Indian players are eager to get started with blackjack so they don’t take their time to learn the game’s rules. This can result in huge losses. You can start by playing free blackjack games to learn about the variants and rule differences.
- Another mistake made by beginners is underestimating the importance of learning the basic strategy for blackjack before wagering for real money. You’ll find additional basic blackjack strategy charts online – study them well to improve your winning chances.